"I really enjoy hosting," McEntire shares in an interview with ET. "I love live television. So, to be able to know the ins and outs and who's doing what and be there for the rehearsals ... it's just fun."

The last time McEntire hosted the ACMs, in 2012, she shared the stage with co-host Blake Shelton, who apparently couldn't keep up with her glamorous wardrobe changes: "I don't think he changed clothes one time," McEntire recalls, "and I gave him a lot of grief about that."

"I've gotten my clothes ready," she adds of the upcoming event. "I've gotten six ready to go: one for the red carpet, and then for the show, and then in case something doesn't work or malfunctions, you've got one, you know, ready to go again."

McEntire is nothing if not prepared, but she says one thing that took her by surprise about the 2018 ACM Awards is the lack of female nominees for the Entertainer of the Year Award. The last woman to win the prestigious award was Taylor Swift, in 2012 (the same year in which McEntire last hosted), but McEntire is holding out hope for change in the near future.

"The country music business is very cyclical. It'll go very traditional with the music or it will go very contemporary. The girls dominate or the boys dominate," she notes, "so, it's coming around. I have faith."

McEntire won Entertainer of the Year at the 1994 ACM Awards, and says she enjoyed the competition nearly as much as winning: "Everybody wants to be loved and accepted, and I'm no exception to that. And so, it's just a good feeling to win," she admits. "I mean, my daddy was a world champion rodeo cowboy and so we're a very competitive bunch. And so when you get into that competition it's just fun to win."

The 2018 ACM Awards are set to take place in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 15, and air live on CBS beginning at 8PM ET. The ceremony will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.